


Blind to the World

by VenomQuill



Category: Original Work
Genre: "bird" trainer, Animal Death, Gen, Might be an example of an original novel I'm working on, Writing blindness, random patrons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28636590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenomQuill/pseuds/VenomQuill
Summary: Aviuns can do anything from show to policework. Being strong and smart but not yet considered human, they have the rights equivalent to those of dogs, even amongst the mythical community, who don't consider these lab-created people as their own. So, today is just another day. Go outside, kill an animal for the entertainment of people who pay his master, then go back to living in the dark.
Kudos: 4





	Blind to the World

The slight jolts that rattled the metal bars of the cages had long since stopped bothering him. Their smooth ride on the road turned had turned bumpy. Excitement tinged the numbness inside of him. With the end of a bumpy road came the brief lie of freedom. He already had his helmet on; he was suited with a vest and helmet that pressed down on the soft white feathers of his shoulders and chest, touching bare skin where feathers did not grow. Leather gloves bound his fingers together, forcing his wings open rather than allow him to use them as arms as any human would. His taloned polydactyl toes curled tight over the single metal bar on the base of his cage. Another occupant grumbled to himself, ruffling his midnight feathers and flaring his short wings. The older aviun was as used to this lie as he was. His was slightly different, but in the end, the minutia of it all didn’t matter.

The rumbling stopped.

Multiple doors opened in the distance, muffled by the aluminum and metal of their container.

Sounds came in earnest, trailing a click and rumble as a large sliding door exposed them to the world. The cold scent of dead and hibernating plants whisked inside tainted by clouds of steam carrying the sickly sweet scent of chocolate and coffee.

“…use for hunting. The big one over there is better for fighting. They’re mostly commissioned by police and military when some big bads escape.” The sound of a masculine voice he knew too well overrode the quiet rustling and crunching of rocky dirt and dead grass. “Now, I didn’t bring any big mystics with me today. I will be wrangling in some more, so come by next month and I’ll show you something special. In the meantime–” The man’s voice deepened in a wheeze as he lifted something heavy. The scraping of metal and agitated snarling of a large carnivore married his words. “–we have good, reliable wolves.”

“Wouldn’t a wolf attack us?” asked an unfamiliar feminine voice.

“Alone? Nah. Got nothing to worry about,” the man reassured her. The cage stopped making a ruckus as it was let down and then wheeled out. A ramp unfolded from the lip of the trailer to allow the dolly passage. “All you gotta do is stand back. I’ve been training this one since birth, but they’re still very dangerous. Very smart, but they’re only docile blind. He’s the tamest one I have, but he’ll turn on you in a second if he feels like it. So, stand back.”

Some shoes shuffled in the ground outside.

Boots hit metal. An object was taken from the front of the bars. A _click_ came in reciprocation to the lock on his cage being jangled and then removed. The hinged squeaked.

“Soryn, come.”

Soryn released the metal bar and walked after the voice. His wicked talons clicked against the metal and scored the cold, dry earth. He heard a small gasp slightly below him. Soryn didn’t react. Instead, he followed until he was instructed to stop.

“Now, stand back, as I said. Good, good, far enough.” _Click, reeeeeeeeeng, bang! Bang, bang!_ The metal tips of the man’s boots clanged against the far back of the cage. The carnivore inside growled. There was a breath of hesitation as the creature thought upon its options and chose the wisest one. Claws scraped metal, but only for a moment as the creature burst from its cage and made its escape. “Hyep!” The man yelled and dramatically pulled down a cord dangling from the back of Soryn’s head.

Light.

Color.

Greens and yellows and grays and blues splashed across his vision in a blinding blur of noise. A large, dark shape moved away from him at perhaps thirty kilometers an hour, closer to fifty. Soryn’s focus snapped on the creature and he took off in a furry of dust and snowy white feathers. He kept himself five meters above the ground, his wide, soaring wings casting a dark, flickering shadow over the ground as he struggled to gain on the running beast. A few clouds scuttled above, none daring to near the sun shining coldly upon them. A tree loomed nearby, its leafless branches shivering in the chilly breeze. The wolf’s thick, long russet pelt waved in the wind that streamed past its broad-shouldered body. The beast never looked back or up, but rather straight ahead, its instinctual fear of humans and a long-lost fear of circling birds infiltrating its otherwise brave demeanor.

Soryn kept up his speed as the wolf slowly began to falter. It's curved–not hooked–claws dug up green and yellow grass and pale brown dirt. Its stride weakened and it began to fall behind. Finally, the massive creature’s body was within his range. Soryn’s tail feathers spread wide and he threw his feet up, feathery toes splayed. His right foot managed to grab onto its skull, his wicked talons parting russet and brown and white fur and his foot flattening one ear. His other grabbed the back of his neck, his talons struggling to pierce its thick coat. But he didn’t need to cut through its skin.

The wolf let out a strangled yelp-bark and snapped, baring long teeth meant for rending flesh and snapping thick, square jaws made to snap bones. Soryn flapped his wings hard, slowing their momentum and turning himself over. The wolf twisted onto its back, all four paws waving wildly in the air and foam-flecked saliva flying off its slavering jaws. Soryn ignored the thick fur of its neck as he concentrated on simply squeezing the life out of his prey. His first instinct was to break open the beast’s skull and slice through its brain. Its struggles would cease immediately. But this was not Soryn’s initiative, as _the man_ desired to preserve the beast, at the very least its pelt which could not be done if Soryn tore its face off. So, the wolf’s death was a little slower as he strangled the beast until finally snapping its neck.

He lowered the wolf to the ground, holding on tight and flapping his wings to keep his balance. Something on his back clicked and the rope running from his head down his back yanked up. Darkness encompassed Soryn’s vision. Just like that, the lie of freedom was relinquished. Soryn lowered his wings and relaxed. He let go of the wolf’s broken neck so he could keep a foot on the ground to steady himself.

“…can fly for miles! An adult aviun like Soryn can catch big game in short sprints. Centaurs are some of the only grounded magic creatures that can properly defend themselves. One kick from a centaur’s hooves can break an aviun’s wing. A grounded aviun is a dead aviun, as you know. These things will even go after _dragons_ in big enough flocks. Rarely mess with wyverns, harpies, or sirens, though. They liked the feathered ones.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wolfy goes bye-bye.
> 
> So, this is mostly a blindness test, to see if I can write something coherent and understandable with an environment without describing a thing requiring a sense of sight. I broke that in the middle to give a contrast and show off more about the aviun's advanced sense of sight and fast processing power.
> 
> The aviun is a "race" of people in an upcoming mystery novel, and a CYOA fantasy, that is a mix between birds and humans. Unlike most winged humans, they don't have wings and arms, but rather (to stay consistent with all other life on Earth) they follow the four-limb rule. As they were artificially created, I changed things further for ease, such as the "four hands" at the end of the wings, two being fused bones used for flight and the other being more delicate and advanced, like human hands. This can be done through a mutation/change in the Sonic Hedgehog gene. Here's a [video](https://youtu.be/YgR7ZRDtIts) that explains this better than I can.
> 
> As aviuns and wulves were created in a lab, neither humans nor myths like to think of them as equals. Racism in this world doesn't work like ours. While we discriminate against our own kind, humans of this world don't. Discriminating against a black woman is like discriminating against someone with red hair or blue eyes. Religion is on the table, but not physical attributes. This is because racism is directed toward "non-humans" like shape-shifters, werewolves, vampires, fairies, centaurs, etc. Those that look human (like shape-shifters, werewolves, and nymphs) are not often openly attacked until otherwise found, like an interracial person who resembles the parent "native" to the region. Humans that try to advocate for rights are scorned or attacked, even when peaceful, by other humans and sometimes edged by mythicals who misconstrue their behavior as being greater-than-thou.
> 
> It feels weird not posting on a schedule, or having something to post every other day. Huh.


End file.
